2012 Income Tax Forms Are Now Available At The Library

I know that there is a big push by the IRS for people to file their taxes online but not everyone wants to do it that way - including myself!

The tax forms are now available at the LaMott Library. I can say this from personal experience because I just picked up some of them a few days ago. The 1040 forms are available as well as other tax forms that you may need such as Schedule C form. This is a form that I need because I work from home and am self-employed but there are other tax forms available if you need them.

I know that there are some that may consider filing their taxes online much more easier but there are just some cases where you may feel that you want to fill out and file your taxes using the paper forms and mailing it in and fortunately our local library has the forms available for you if you need them.

Better hurry though because April 16th (April 15th falls on a Sunday) will be here sooner than you think!

Kill A Watt Electrical Meters Are Now Available At Library

Now you can manage your electric bill because Kill A Watt electrical meters are available at no charge from your public library. You can use these meters to caculate the cost of running appliances on a daily, weekly, monthy and annual basis.

You can find out more information about this by checking out the Cheltenham Township Library page and the LaMott Library page as well.

LaMott - A Homeowner's Dream?

It seems that there is a lot of interest in our little area! Here is an excerpt from some mail that I received about this area:


Dear LaMott Neighbors,

We have getting so many requests for information about this neighborhood that we have decided to put together a newsletter to update everyone.

There are currently five houses on the market in the Lamott neighborhood, with prices ranging from $84,900 to $250,000. Of those, none are under contract.

In the past 6 months, three have sold. They are shown below.

When you are ready to make a move, we know how to use these facts to get the job done quickly. We are still in an active market and interest rates remain amazingly low.

For more information about the real estate market conditions in the neighborhood, please don't hesitate to contact our Realty Office, your Lamott neighborhood professionals....for that "extra effort" you can count on!

Who do you know that we can help?


Here is a list of properties that have sold in our area last year:

• 1721 W. Cheltenham Ave, Twin 2 story colonial, 3 bedroom, 1-1/2 baths - sold for $135,00
  
  
• 7327 Butcher St, Twin 2 story AirLite, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath - sold for $140,000
  
  
• 1805 Erlen Rd, Twin 2 story StrThru, 3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths - sold for $183,237
  

Now You Can Apply For A Library Card Online!

If you would like to apply online for a library card, just click here.

Once you receive your library card you will be able to use it at not only the LaMott library but you will also be able to use it at the other 3 libraries in the Cheltenham area as well.

What's Going On Outside Our Doors?

Just in case you didn't know there is activity going on outside our doors. What is it? Well from what I gather the township will be installing new street lights in our area.

Orange flyers have been posted all around the area for at least a few days now informing the residents of this. And yesterday one of these orange flyers was even delivered to my front door.

From what I have been told so far, the old street lights are going to be taken down and new ones (that will be around 12 feet tall) will be installed at various street points around the area. (If you see a "pink" chalk marking of numbers then that marks the spot for one of the new street lights).

This is going to take some time because holes have to be dug and electrical equipment installed so the work will be continuing in our area for some time.

I will be posting more information as soon as I get it.

I Didn't Know That There Were So Many Stores Nearby!

As long as I have lived here in LaMott I have known that there were a few stores near the area. Usually I do my shopping at the Shoprite at the Cheltenham Mall but sometimes I will go to the Rite Aid at Broad and Cheltenham.

You see LaMott is mostly a residential area and the closest thing that we have to a store is the LaMott Cleaners that is located right across the street from the LaMott Community Center.

However there are some stores nearby where you can do some of your shopping.


First there are several stores right at the little mall location at Cheltenham Avenue and Penrose Ave.

There is of course a cleaners located here but there is also a pool hall that has been there for quite a while now. There is also a Domino's Pizza place that is now there where you can walk in or have your pizza delivered. There is also a type of 7-Eleven-ish store that is located there where you can buy beer, buy a lottery ticket and they even have an eat-in section where you can order and eat your food.

What I was surprised to find out is that there is also a bakery located there as well as a seafood place. I'm also told that at the far end of the mall is a Korean supermarket.

Next of course you have your Rite Aid that is located at Broad and Cheltenham Ave.

A little further down from there at Cheltenham Avenue and Old York Road is another Korean mall that has a number of smaller boutique-like stores and there is also a supermarket there as well!



For more information about other local businesses in the area visit The LaMott Directory.

Commercial Property For Sale!

Unfortunately the property that houses the The Printing Place on Cheltenham Avenue is up for sale. They are looking for a buyer.

Here is the information that has been provided by the realtor:




Commercial Property For Sale

1726 W. Cheltenham Ave

If you know of any savvy investors or entreprenuers that are interested in this mixed use commercial property with great income possibilities then you are urged to contact the realtor who is connected with this property.

The first floor is open space with two offices. There is great potential for a beauty salon, restaurant/deli and other kinds of commercial business for this property located in a high traffic area.

The second floor is a two bedroom, tenant occupied apartment.

Centrally located between Cheltenham Mall and Broad St. on a corner lot which is perfect exposure for a potential business.

---

Update!

As of August 2012 it seems that the property has been bought and the Printing Place is currently still there.

I Found A Mailbox (sort of) Close By!

Well I miss the mailbox that was at the corner of Willow Ave. and Cedar Lane. That was one of my "exercise" routes - to help me feel better by taking a walk and calling it one of my exercise routines.

However I found another mailbox that is relatively close and it is at the corner of 19th and Cheltenham Ave. right outside the Dollar Store that is on the corner.

While the mailbox that used to be at Cedar Lane was more closer to me, at least the one at 19th and Cheltenham is within walking distance for me (and it can still be considered a good exercise walk!)

I have also noticed that there are a couple of mailboxes in the Lynnewood Gardens complex for those that live in that area.

So at least not ALL of the mailboxes in our area are gone - thank goodness!

I Found Out What Happened To The Mailboxes!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that the mailbox at Willow and Sycamore was gone! Not only that but it seems that the mailbox at the corner of 19th and Cheltenham is gone too as well as the one above the LaMott Firehouse #1 on Penrose Avanue! So what's up with that!


I have since come to find out that the post has gotten rid of these mailboxes because it seems that these mailboxes were not being used enough.

So now what are our options supposed to be? Well I was told that you could leave your mail at your home's mailbox so that the mailperson can pick it up when they deliver your mail, you can go online and request a pickup (I asked them if you could call the post office by phone and request a pickup but I was told that you would have to do it online so that it could be in the computer records) or you could mail your mail at the post office itself.

This whole thing seems quite ludicrous to me! Why would they get rid of the mailboxes?

And its not just happening here in our own little area! I have come to find out that the post office is getting rid of many, many mailboxes all over the United States! Now I can understand some of the reasons cited such as people putting other objects in the mailboxes and the "waste" of manpower going to mailboxes that only have a few (if any) pieces of mail. I can understand that kind of reasoning but I do not agree with it.

I am a big fan of computers myself but I don't think that the increased use of emailing and paying bills online is going to determine that there is no need for the actual mailboxes. I still mail things by hand and quite frankly I kind of enjoyed the walk to the mailbox!

Just in case you are curious there are some people who have fought for their mailboxes and managed to have them put back. You can read an article about it by clicking here.

Want to see what others' opinions are about this issue? Just click here.

Oh, and for the record I don't agree with this decision at all!

2009 Township County, Sewer & Refuse Bill in mail this month

This information comes straight from the LaMott, PA Group at Yahoo.com.

If you haven't received this bill yet you should wait until at least the end of the month before you call the township to request a copy.

The LaMott Directory!

As I posted about this before in my blog, I'm currently moving my LaMott-related pages to another webhost. My most current transfer is:

The LaMott Directory

This is a listing of the businesses, organizations and other entities that are in the Cheltenham / LaMott area.

If you would like to add your listing you can find out more about how to do that by visiting the link above.

Election Day In LaMott!

Yes the big day had arrived and it was time to cast my vote! And YES I did cast my vote today!

Because of where I live, my voting place was the LaMott Community Center!



It was an interesting (and very busy) day all day long!

I started the day quite early and started listening to the local community radio station, WURD, just to hear what was going on!

First of all it seems that the polling places had long lines even before they opened! But I figured since LaMott was such a small area that the same thing wouldn't apply! Boy was I wrong! I heard stories from those who were at the community center that there was a long line even before the voting was supposed to start!

I didn't arrive until the afternoon around 1pm because I heard that the late morning and early afternoon was the best time to avoid waiting in long lines! So by the time that I got there there was no waiting. I walked in, cast my vote and was finished!

But I decided to stay a little while. Did you know that LaMott has a constable? I was talking to him for quite a while!

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. Constable - Historically, a constable could also be someone in charge of the defence of a castle. Even today, there is a Constable of the Tower of London. source Wikipedia

During the course of the early afternoon there were a trickle of people coming to vote! A lot of them were voting for the first time and there were volunteers there waiting and ready to help them!

What was also nice was the fact that the community center is just that - a place where the community gathers! People spent some time (after they voted) chatting with the other residents - including me!

We all were having a great time and even the weather didn't darken our moods!

I decided to leave a few hours later before it got too crowded! But it was a very pleasant day indeed!

The Community Garden(s) - Part 2

Since we are technically still in the middle of summer, here's another picture that I took of the community garden.

Technically-speaking the land actually belongs to Temple University (at least I think it does) and for as long as I have been living up here (about 25 years) the community garden has always been there!

The people that have gardens there are mostly residents of the community and since Temple has campuses in Philadelphia, I think some of the students use the gardens as well! Everyone I have met there has been very nice and I really think that they are a great bunch of people. My guide to the gardens used to be a man named Brooks Cropper who has since passed away.

The community garden is really a something to see as everyone is growing all different types of vegetables. I guess the most prominent of the vegetables are the tomatoe plants that most of the gardeners seem to be growing. I say this because for the most part tomatoe plants should be staked and it's interesting to see the different ways (and different materials ) that the gardeners use to stake the tomatoes.

Now I have been hearing all sorts of different stories about whether or not Temple will be moving their art students back into the city of Philadelphia, about how the students dcn't like that and about how their parents don't like that either! I have heard stories about how Temple is going to sell off the property(s)...etc....et al! The latest story I have been told is that the year 2008 - 2009 will be the last semester for the art students here at the Tyler School of Art. After that the students will have to go to the campus located in Philadelphia.

I really don't know how all of this is going to affect the community garden so I guess that we should just really enjoy the pleasure of having it now.

I Just Renewed My Library Books Online!

With things going on I haven't been able to get to our local LaMott library. Actually I found out that its been some years since I have been there! But you have to face the fact that when things are going on in your life you can only do what you can do! Besides this gave me the most pleasant experience of re-visiting our local community library!

Of course our library is located inside the community center.

The LaMott Library

7420 Sycamore Ave.

La Mott, PA 19027

(215) 635-4419

Hours of Operation

Monday, Wednesday: 3-8:30pm

Tuesday: 2-6pm

Thursday: 10am-6pm

Friday: 3-6pm

Saturday: 12-4pm

I have to admit that even though the LaMott library is smaller than the other libraries I would never go anywhere else unless I really HAD to! The library is packed and filled to the brims with books, tapes, newspapers and other kinds of publications! I just LOVE it there!

There are also computers that the residents can use during the library hours. You must sign in before you can use the computers but even that you can do via the computer!

On my last visit there I checked out some books and I didn't realize that the due date was coming so soon! They sent me an email to remind me that the due date was coming up and in the email it mentioned that I could renew my books online so I decided to try it out! It was quite fun and quite convenient to be able to renew my library books from home which at the time just happened to be on a Sunday (when the library is closed) and a very hot Sunday at that!

If you have not been to our local library then you do not know what you are missing!

The LaMott Free Library Website

LaMott Firehouse #1 - The Sound Of Their Siren?

Someone new to this area who is was a new resident once remarked to me that they really didn't like the sounds of the sirens from the LaMott firehouse #1. I explained to them that the reason why the sirens sounded was to notify those firefighters (who are volunteers by the way) who were not yet already at the firehouse.

There have been many times when I have heard the sirens and then maybe a minute or 2 later I would hear the cars (of the firefighters - I assume) who were driving to the firehouse.

When I first moved up here the sirens bothered me too. I also believe that there was a time when the sirens would sound at noon everyday but I'm pretty sure that they don't do that anymore.

since then I have come not to mind the sirens because I know that the firehouse is sounding them for a very specific reason.

photo courtesy of
Historic Lamott, Pa.com

Telephone Service Not Working Since Tuesday!

Just in case you're wondering about this and decided to look online for more information our telephone service was out since Tuesday (2 days ago). As of arond 6:45 pm today it is back on - at least I have telephone service now.

This started Tuesday afternoon although I can't be sure of exactly when but I do know that I tried to get online about 8pm Tuesday night and couldn't do it. Later I came to find out from Verizon that there was a problem with one of the telephone cables.

Now I don't know if its a case of EVERYBODY's telephone service being off but I do know that my next door neighbor's telephone service was affected too. Plus he joked about the fact that he was using all of his cellphone minutes to find out what was going on.

From what I have been able to find out there was a telephone / network cable that required some work but according to a represenative from Verizon, she said that "they" (whoever "they" are?) don't tell them specifically what the proble is they just tell them that there is a problem.

So I get a call from Verizon saying that it may be until 9pm FRIDAY that the telephone service will be restored and the next thing I know - another half hour later the phone rings!

So if my telephone service is restored hopefully that means that the rest of the area that was affected has also had their phone service restored.

Our Local Post Office

Here is another picture of our local post office that I took with my cameraphone. Depending upon where you are located this post office is located at the top of a hill which makes it quite an effort to get there if you are going by foot! (And I have had the pleasure of doing that too!) However it is a good walk if you are into the "exercise" thing! If I were driving I might feel a little bit different about it.

Everytime I go there it seems to be quite busy! Lots of cars in the parking lot and there is always somebody who is parked right at the front because - I figure - that they don't expect to be there that long.

But all in all the post office is quite good with lots of postal supplies on hand and the people that work there are very helpful.

About the only complaint that I have heard about the post office is that there are times when the line is long and there is only one or two postal clerks - but I have found that to be true of almost any post office that I have been to - except for the one in Center City.

So plan to make good use of our local post office 'cause that's where our tax dollars are!

LaMott Podcast

I should also mention that I'm working on a podcast for LaMott. You can listen to what I have on it now by going to the LaMott Page.

So far the podcast has some public service announcements on it - one which I produced myself is for our local Firehouse #1.

I'm working on including music in the podcast but the music that is chosen has to be of a specific type because of copyright issues.

I will post more about the podcast as I add more content to it.

Just In Case You Didn't Know There's Another Convenient Business In Our Area

Since we are right in the midst of tax season I thought that it would be a good idea to let you know that there is a copying and printing store located on the corner right near 17th and Cheltenham - right on the Philadelphia side.

They do copying and printing, business cards plus a whole lot more!

I have been in there quite a few times and the people that work there are very nice and friendly!






The Printing Word

1726 Cheltenham Ave

Phila., PA 19027
(their card says 19126 which was our old zip code)

(215) 224-4550

Shopping Within Walking Distance

There is a RiteAid that is within walking distance of where I live. It's not a short walk but it is a good walk. And it's a good walk for exercise as well. As I have blogged about before, I have a chance to see a lot of people walking around the neighborhood and a lot of them tell me that they walk for exercise. (I even know of one neighbor that keeps her car parked and walks to do her shopping and errands.)

Of course you can't get everything at the Rite-Aid but they will do in a pinch! They do sell eggs and milk and bread. If you get their circular in the mail then you can find out about what things they have on sale. A few days after Christmas they had a lot of 50% off sale products in the store and by the time I got there they had sold out of a lot of the things that they had on sale.

You can also refill your prescriptions by email.

Here is the basic information about the Rite Aid in our area:

Rite Aid
1401 W. Cheltenham Ave.
Melrose Park, PA 19027
(215) 782-8950

Customer Service is

1-800-RITEAID